VÁCLAV BLAŽEK Masaryk University

Fields of research: Indo-European studies, especially Slavic, Baltic, Celtic, Anatolian, Tocharian, Indo-Iranian languages; Fenno-Ugric; Afro-Asiatic; etymology; genetic classification; mathematic models in historical linguistics.

AN ATTEMPT AT AN ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PTOLEMY´S HYDRONYMS OF EASTERN BALTICUM

Bandymas etimologiškai analizuoti Ptolemajo užfiksuotus rytinio Baltijos regiono hidronimus

ANNOTATION

The contribution analyzes four hydronyms from Eastern Balticum, recorded by Ptole- my in the mid-2nd cent. CE in context of witness of other ancient geographers. Their re- vised etymological analyses lead to the conclusion that at least three of them are of Ger- manic origin, but probably calques on their probable Baltic counterparts. KEYWORDS: Geography, hydronym, etymology, calque, Germanic, Baltic, Balto-Fennic.

ANOTACIJA

Šiame darbe analizuojami keturi Ptolemajo II a. po Kr. viduryje užrašyti rytinio Bal- tijos regiono hidronimai, paliudyti ir kitų senovės geografų. Šių hidronimų etimologinė analizė parodė, kad bent trys iš jų yra germaniškos kilmės, tačiau, tikėtina, baltiškų atitik­ menų kalkės. ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: geografija, hidronimas, etimologija, kalkė, germanų, baltų, baltų ir finų kilmė.

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The four river-names located by Ptolemy to the east of the eastuary of the Vistula river, Χρόνος, Ῥούβων, Τουρούντος, Χε(ρ)σίνος, have usually been mechanically identified with the biggest rivers of Eastern Balticum according to the sequence of Ptolemy’s coordinates: Χρόνος ~ Prussian Pregora / German Pregel / Russian Prególja / Polish Pre- goła / Lithuanian Preglius; 123 km (Mannert 1820: 257; Tomaschek, RE III/2, 1899, c. 2841). Ῥούβων ~ Lithuanian Nemunas̃ / Polish Niemen / Belorussian Nëman / Ger- man Memel; 937 km (Mannert 1820: 258; Rappaport, RE 48, 1914, c. 1180); Τουρούντος ~ Latvian Venta / Lithuanian Ventà / Livonian Vǟnta joug / Po- lish Windawa / German Windau; 346 km long (Mannert 1820: 258); Χε(ρ)σίνος ~ Latvian Daugava / Belorussian Zaxodnjaja Dzvina / Russian Západnaja Dviná / German Düna / Estonian Väinä; 1020 km (Mannert 1820: 2580; Tomaschek, RE III/2, 1899, cc. 2273–74 also thought about the Gauja River).

1. TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

1.1. Ptolemy, c. 150 CE [3.5.] Εὐρώπης πίναξ η. Ἡ ἐν Εὐρώπῃ Σαρματία περιορίζεται ἀπὸ μὲν ἄρκτων τῷ τε Σαρματικῷ ὠκεανῷ κατὰ τὸν Οὐενεδικὸν κόλπον καὶ μέρει τῆς ἀγνώστου γῆς κατὰ περιγραφὴν τοιαύτην· μετὰ τὰς τοῦ Οὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολὰς Χρόνου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ν ν Ῥούβωνος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί νγ νζ Τουρούντου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ν νη _ Χε(ρ)σίνου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί νη νθ _

“European Sarmatia is terminated on the north by the Sarmatian ocean adjoining the Venedicus bay and by a part of the unknown land, a description of which is the following. After the mouth of the Vistula River: mouth of the Chronus river 50*00 56°00 mouth of the Rubonis river 53*00 57°00 mouth of the Turuntus river 56*00 58°30 mouth of the Che(r)sinus river 58*30 59°30” For comparison, the coordinates of the mouth of the Albis and Vistula rivers were determined by Ptolemy [4.11.1 & 4] as follows: ἄλβιος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαὶ λα´ νϡ´δʺ “The mouths of the Albis river 31*00 56o15”

26 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

Οὐστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί με´ νϡ´ “The mouths of the Vistula river 45*00 56o00” Translated by Edward L. Stevenson (1932) http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Pe- riods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/3/5*.html

Ptolemy’s European Sarmatia by Sebastian Munster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_(Ptolemy)#/media/File:- Sebastian_Munster_-_Tabvla_europae_VIII_(Sarmatia).jpg

1.2. In the 4th cent. CE Marcian of Heraclea Pontica repeated the sequence of these rivers, but with certain modifications of their names: [2.39] Mετὰ τὰς ἐκβολὰς τοῦ Oὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκδέχονται Xρόνου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί. ἀπὸ δὲ Xρóνου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἑξῆς εἰσὶ Ῥουδῶνος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί. Oὗτoι δὲ oἱ ποταμοὶ εἰς τὸν Oὐενδικὸν κὸλπον ἐξίασιν, ὅστις ἀπὸ τοῦ Oὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἄρχεται παρήκων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον. Ἀπὸ

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δὲ τοῦ Ῥoυδῶνoς ποταμοῦ ἑξῆς εἰσὶ Toυρoύντου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ἀπὸ δὲ Toυρoύντου ποταμοῦ ἐκδέχεται Xέσυνος ποταμὸς, καὶ αἱ τούτου ἐκβολαί. “Post Vistulae fluvii ostia sequuntur Chroni fluvii ostia; post Chronum flu- vium deinceps sunt Rhudonis fluvii ostia. Hi fluvii exeunt in sinum Vendicum, qui a Vistula flumine incipit, in immensum extensus. Rhudonem fluvium sub- sequuntur Turuntae fluvii ostia; Turuntam fluvium excipit Chesynus fluvius, eiusque ostia.” Edition and Latin translation by Müller 1882.

1.3. In the end of the 4th century CE Ammianus Marcellinus [22.8.38] recor- ded the form Chronius of Ptolemy´s hydronym Χρόνος: [38] Ergo in ipso huius compagis exordio, ubi Riphaei deficiunt montes, ha- bitant Arimphaei, iusti homines placiditateque cogniti, quos amnes Chronius et Visula praeterfluunt; iuxtaque Massagetae, Halani et Sargetae, aliique plures obscuri, quorum nec vocabula nobis sunt nota nec mores. [38] “Well then, at the very beginning of this district, where the Riphaean mountains sink to the plain, dwell the Aremphaei, just men and known for their gentleness, through whose country flow the rivers Chronius and Visula. Near them are the Massagetae, Halani, and Sargetae, as well as several other obscure peoples whose names and customs are unknown to us.” Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum Gestarum, with an English translation by John C. Rolfe. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press – London: Heinemann 1935–1940. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001.perseus-lat1:22.8.38 http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001.perseus-eng1:22.8.38

1.4. Probably the same hydronym, but belonging to a sea, was already used by Pliny in the mid-1st cent. CE: [4.38/94–95] exeundum deinde est, ut extera europae dicantur, transgressisque ri- paeos montes litus oceani septentrionalis in laeva, donec perveniatur gadis, legendum. insulae complures sine nominibus eo situ traduntur, ex quibus ante scythiam quae appellatur baunonia unam abesse diei cursu, in quam veris tempore fluctibus electrum eiciatur, timaeus prodidit. reliqua litora incerta. signata fama septentrionalis oceani. amalchium eum hecataeus appellat a parapaniso amne, qua scythiam adluit, quod no- men eius gentis lingua significat congelatum. philemon morimarusam a cimbris vocari, hoc est mortuum mare, inde usque ad promunturium rusbeas, ultra deinde cronium. xenophon lampsacenus a litore scytharum tridui navigatione insulam esse inmensae magnitudinis baltiam tradit, eandem pytheas basiliam nominat. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-lat1:4.38

28 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

“We must now leave the Euxine to describe the outer portions of Europe. After passing the Riphæan mountains we have now to follow the shores of the Northern Ocean on the left, until we arrive at Gades. In this direction a gre- at number of islands are said to exist that have no name; among which there is one which lies opposite to Scythia, mentioned under the name of Raunonia, and said to be at a distance of the day’s sail from the mainland; and upon which, according to Timæus, amber is thrown up by the waves in the spring season. As to the remaining parts of these shores, they are only known from reports of do- ubtful authority. With reference to the Septentrional or Northern Ocean; He- catæus calls it, after we have passed the mouth of the river Parapanisus, where it washes the Scythian shores, the Amalchian sea, the word ‘Amalchian’ signi- fying in the language of these races, frozen. Philemon again says that it is called Morimarusa or the “Dead Sea” by the Cimbri, as far as the Promontory of Ru- beas, beyond which it has the name of the Cronian Sea. Xenophon of Lampsa- cus tells us that at a distance of three days’ sail from the shores of Scythia, there is an island of immense size called Baltia, which by Pytheas is called Basilia.” http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:4.27

[4.41/104] sunt qui et alias prodant, scandias, dumnam, bergos maximamque om- nium berricen, ex qua in tylen navigetur. a tyle unius diei navigatione mare concretum a nonnullis cronium appellatur. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-lat1:4.41 “There are writers also who make mention of some other islands, Scandia namely, Dumna, Bergos, and, greater than all, Nerigos, from which persons embark for Thule. At one day’s sail from Thule is the frozen ocean, which by some is called the Cronian Sea.” http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:4.30 Pliny the Elder: Naturalis Historia, ed. by Karl Frie- drich Theodor Mayhoff. Leipzig: Teubner 1906. Pliny the Elder: The Natural History, translated by John Bostock & H.T. Riley. London. Taylor and Francis, 1855: 4.30.

1.5. Dionysius Periegetes, 2nd (or 3rd?) cent. CE repeated Pliny’s information about the Cronian Sea in the north, which had to be frozen or dead: 27 Πάντη δ’ ἀκαμάτου ῥόος Ὠκεανοῖο 28 εἷς μὲν ἐών, πολλῇσι δ’ ἐπωνυμίῃσιν ἀρερώς. 29 Ἡτοι ὁ μὲν Λοκροῖο παρ’ ἐσχατιὴν ζεφύραο 30 Ἄτλας ἑσπέριος κικλήσκεται. αὐταρ ὕπερθεν, 31 πρὸς βορέην, ἵνα παῖδες ἀρειμανέων Ἀριμασπῶν, 32 πόντον μιν καλέουσι πεπηγότα τε Kρόνιον τε. 33 ἅλλοι δ’ αὖ καὶ νεκρὸν ἐφήμισαν εἴνεκ’ ἀφαυροῦ

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34 ἠελίου. Dionysius Periēgētes: Graece et Latine cum vetustis commentariis et in- terpretationibus, ed. Gottfried Bernhardy. Leipzig: Weidmann 1828, 10. 27 “But on all sides flows the might of tireless Ocean, 28 and being one, yet endowed with many names. 29 Well, by the furthest recess of the Locrian zephyr 30 it is called the Western Atlas, but above, 31 towards the north, where dwell the children of the war-mad Arimaspoi, 32 they call it the Frozen and the Cronion Sea. 33 Others, again, called it also the Dead, because of the weakness 34 of the sun.” Dionysius Periegetes: Description of the Known World Translation: Ekaterina Ilyushechki http://wwwdh.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/IMMD8/ staff/Goerz/Dionysius_Periegetes.html http://wwwdh.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/IMMD8/staff/Goerz/DP/DP.E5-ln.tx

1.6. Following Pliny, more brief was Solinus [19.2] in the 3rd cent. CE: Oceanum septemtrionalem ex ea parte, qua a Propanisso amne Scythia adluitur, Hecataeus Amalcium appellat, quod gentis illius lingua significat congelatum. Phile- mon a Cimbris ad promunturium Rubeas Morimarusam dicit vocari, hoc est mortu- um mare: ultra Rubeas quicquid est Cronium nominat. Gaius Julius Solinus: De mirabilibus mundi http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/solinus2a.html

“The North Ocean on that part where Paropamisus a Ryuer of Scythia washe- th into it, is named of Hecataeus Amalchium: which in ye language of that na- tion, signifieth the Frozen sea. Phylaemon saith, that from the Cimbrians to the Promontorie Rubeas, it is called Morimarusa, which is as much to saie, as the dead Sea. Whatsoeuer is beyonde Rubeas is called Cronium.” Translated by Arthur Golding (16th cent.) http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A12581.0001.001/1:34?rgn=div1;view=fulltext

2. PURPOSES AND DETERMINATION OF THE LANGUAGE AFFILIATION OF THE HYDRONYMS

In this contribution four hydronyms localized by Pliny, Ptolemy and their followers in the eastern part of Balticum, namely Χρόνος/Chronius/Cronium, Ῥούβων / Ῥούδων, Τουρούντος, Χε(ρ)σίνος, are analyzed in etymological perspective.

30 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

The first task is determining the language affiliation of these hydronyms. Two of them, Χρόνος & Χε(ρ)σίνος, are characterized by the initial χ-, i.e. [kh]. In the Indo-European languages of Europe this sound is typical of Greek, Sla- vic and Germanic. Greek and Slavic are excluded for geographical reasons (let us mention that in Slavic the initial *x- has usually been of Germanic or Ira- nian origin). If Germanic remains as the most promising candidate, it is natural to ask, if there is yet another argument supporting the Germanic affiliation of these river-names. The answer may be positive – in Τουρούντος it is possible to see the Germanic zero-reflex *-unþ-/*-unđ- of the present participle suffix *-n ̥t-, which is rudimentarily productive in the old literary Germanic languages: Old High German weisunt “vein” ~ Old English wāsend id., from IE *u̯ei̯s- “to flow” (Pokorny 1959: 1134), or Gothic hulundi “cave” vs. Old Norse holr, Old English, Old Saxon, Old High German hol adj. “hollow”, all from the verb at- tested in Gothic huljan “to cover”, Old Norse hylja, Old English be-hyllan, Old Saxon bi-hullean, Old High German hullan id. (Brugmann 1906: 216, 461; Po- korny 1959: 553; Lehmann 1986: 193–94; Kroonen 2013: 253). This role of the suffix *-unþ- is generally accepted in the formation of Gothic tunþus “tooth” (Brugmann 1906: 460; Kroonen 2013: 509–10).

3. ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSES

3.1. Χρόνος [Ptolemy 3.5.2]; Chronius [Ammianus Marcellinus 22.8.38]; perhaps also Mare Cronium [Pliny 4.38/94–95, 41/104]. There are at least three possible Germanic etymologies: a) Müllenhoff (1887: 351) tried to explain the hydronym with the help of Old Norse hrynja “stürzen, fallen, strömen”, Icelandic hrynja id., hrun “Sturz”, Norwegian rynja “lärmen, poltern”, Old Swedish rynia “lärmen”; perhaps also Old High German hrono “gestürzter Baumstamm”, Middle Low German ro- ne id. and Old English hruna in place-names (de Vries 1962: 263; Holthausen 1963: 176). Although this idea is followed by Scheungraber & Grünzweig (AgT 138–39), it seems weakest in semantic perspective. b) Kuhn (1941: 113) thought about a connection of Mare Cronium and Old Norse hrǫnn f. “wave; Ægir´s daughter”. Together with Icelandic hrönn “wave” and Old English hræn ~ hærn f. “waves, tide, sea”, probably reflect Germanic

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*hraznō1 (de Vries 1962: 264; Holthausen 1963: 146). Related may be Middle High German (15th cent.) rünne f. “Sturmwoge”, if it is derived from *hrōnn- jō(n)- (Falk & Torp 1909: 104; Orel 2003: 185; while Kroonen 2013: 418 pre- fers the protoform *runnjō(n)-). Just the reconstructed protoform *hrōnnjō(n)- f., despite the difference in gender, stands very close to Pliny’s Mare Cronium and Ammianus Marcellinus’ Chronius. The initial C- is perhaps caused by influence of Κρονία ἅλς, used for the Adriatic Sea by Apollonius Rhodius [Argonautica 4.324, 509] in the 3rd cent. BCE. The sea name is probably motivated by the theonym Κρόνος. On the other hand, in the 1st and 2nd cent. CE one would expect that in a hypothetical Germanic language of Eastern Balticum the clus- ter *-zn- was still preserved, if it was preserved in Biblical Gothic recorded aro- und 350 CE, e.g. Gothic razn “house”, ga-razna “neighbor” (~ Old Norse granni id) vs. Old Norse rann, Old English ræn ~ ærn n. “house, dwelling”, Old Frisian fīa-ern“animal barn” < *razna-, besides Old English ræsn n. “board” < *rasna- (Lehmann 1986: 283; de Vries 1962: 433); Germanic > Finnish (arch. & dial.) rahna “Holzstück, von dem Späne abgerissen werden; brennender Baumstamm auf der Schwende; Ackerwalze”, Estonian rahn, gen. rahnu & rahna “Block, Klotz, grosses Stück, ungespaltener Stamm, Livonian rō̮’n(ǝ ̑Z) “umgeworfener Baumstumpf; Baumstamm am Meeresboden” (LGLO III 105). Cf. also the per- sonal name Rasne-hildi gen.sg. [CIL XIII 7660] (Schönfeld 1911: 185), dated to the 7th cent. CE. Summing up, although this solution is very attractive from the point of view of semantics, it should be abandoned for phonetic reasons. c) Another possibility is represented by Old Norse hraun n. “steiniger Boden, Lava”, Icelandic hraun “steiniges Land ohne vegetation”, Faeroese reyn, Danish røn “Steinbank auf Meeresboden” > Shetlandic røn(i) “Steingrund”, Norwe- gian NL Röuna, Swedish NL Rönö, Röne (de Vries 1962: 252; Hellquist 1957:

1 The medial cluster *-zn- is confirmed by external comparison with Greek *κράσνᾱ > Aeo- lic κράννᾱ, Doric, Arcadian κράνᾱ, Attic κρήνη “source, fountain” [Il.]; besides *κροσνός > κρουνός “spring, well head, whence streams issue” [Il. 22.147, 208], cf. the gloss of Hesychius κροῦναι · κρῆναι τέλειαι (see de Saussure 1881: 119; Frisk II 16, 27; Beekes 2010: 777). Later were added cognates in other languages too: Albanian krua ~ krue m., pl. kronj, kroje “spring, fountain” (Orel 1998: 198); Celtic: Old Irish crond, Cornish cronn ‘a name of a river’ (Stokes 1907: 247). The protoforms *k ̂r ̥sn ā & *k ̂rosno -/ā (Beekes, EIEC 539) are compatible with one of the IE designations of “head”, attested e.g. in Greek κρᾱνίον “skull, head”, Albanian krye n., pl. krere ~ krene “head” (Orel 1998: 199); Tocharian B krāñi(ye) “(nape of the) neck” (Adams 2013: 230), etc. Concerning the semantic development, cf. Latin caput fontis or caput aquae and Greek κράνα · κεφαλή (Hesychius) – see de Saussure 1881: 119 and Frisk II, 16. This conclusion im- plies the reconstruction of *k ̂-. The Albanian reflex k- before -r- is regular.

32 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

874). Udolph (1994: 888–92) adds the German oronym Rhön2. Germanic > Finnish rauna “grober Kies, kleine Steine auf dem Grund eines Sees”, Finnish, Votic & Ingrian raunio, Karelian raunivo “Steinhaufen”, Estonian raun, gen. rau- na “Stein-, Granithaufen” (LGLO III 136). The ancient authors differentiated two variants, Χρόνος & Chronius, which can be projected into proto-Germanic as *hrauna- & *hraunija-/*hraunijo(n)-3. There is a suggestively matching pair in Balto-Fennic, *rauna & *raunio respectively. Thanks to this corresponden- ce it is possible to determine the dialect affiliation of the Germanic dialect of the hydronym – it was probably the same Germanic dialect which bequeathed the earliest Germanic borrowings in the Balto-Fennic languages. It remains to discuss the semantic motivation of this hydronym. Rocks or big stones are not typical of mouths and lower streams of rivers of East Balticum. That is why “gravel” seems to be a more promising semantic motive. Maybe, it could be the Vistula Spit (Polish Mierzeja Wiślana; German Frische Nehrung; Russian Balti- jskaja kosa) or Curonian Spit (Kuršių nerija), both consisting of the gravel and sand forming dunes4 which led to the designation Mare Cronium of the Vistula Lagoon or Curonian Lagoon, respectively. With regard to their fresh or brac- kish water the lagoons have been frozen more or less regularly, in contrary to the open and more salty sea. The frozen sea was probably understood as the dead sea by visitors from the Mediterranean. The term originally reserved for one of these lagoons was later maybe transmitted to straits connecting the la- goons with the Baltic Sea, resembling the estuaries of rivers seen from the sea, or for rivers emptying into these lagoons. Let us analyze the river-names, com- patible with the semantic sphere of Germanic *hrauna- & *hraunija- / *hrauni- jo(n)-. The most frequent candidate for Χρόνος & Chronius has been the Pregel / Pregolja River. In reality, the latitude of its mouth is not too different from the mouth of the Vistula River (Ptolemy determined both to 56°00). The ety- mology of this hydronym is not unambiguous. Gerullis (1922, 135), summari- zing old records, namely Prigora (1302), Pregor (1359), besides the dissimilated forms Pregoll, Pregel (1331), Pregill (1460), sought explanation in Lithuanian prãgaras “grundloser Weg, Abgrund, Hölle” (also “Vielfrass”). It is related to pragorė ̃ “Abgrund, unermessliche Tiefe” and both have been derived from the

2 The mountain range Rhön is located in the borderland of the states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thu- ringia. Its highest top, Wasserkuppe, is 950 m high. 3 The proto-Germanic diphthong *au, confirmed in the Balto-Fennic borrowings, may have been changed into o in Greek and Latin transcriptions, cf. Austrogoti vs. Ostrogothi (Schönfeld 1911: 38). 4 The biggest dune of the Vistula Spit, called Wielblądźi Garb = Kamelhöcker, is 48.50 m high. The biggest dune of the Curonian Spit, called Vecekrug, is higher, 67.20 m.

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Lithuanian verb gérti “to drink” (Fraenkel 1962–65: 148, 643). Such a semantic motivation is naturally acceptable for a river-name, if the river flows in a ca- nyon or at least a deep valley. This is apparently not the case of the flat landsca- pe along the Pregel / Pregolja River. Mažiulis (2013) added the oldest record Pregora (1273), reconstructing the Baltic starting-point as *Pregarā. He separa- ted here the suffix *-arā (cf. Lithuanian žíež-ara “griesgrämige, mürrische Per- son; Hexe”, from žiežti “brummen, murren, böse sein” – see Fraenkel 1962–65: 1308). The root proper should be related to Lithuanian s p r a g e ̇́t i “(von Hitze oder Kälte) knarrend platzen, bersten, zischen, glitzern”, sprógti “bersten, zerplatzen, zerspringen, aufspringen, in die Luft fliegen, explodieren” etc. (Fraenkel 1962– 65: 877, 882). Although this solution is transparent from the point of view of word formation, the semantic motivation remains unconvincing. But the vo- wel o in the Prussian hydronym Pregora, Prigora, etc. is also explainable from Baltic *au, cf. the vacillation au/aw ~ o ~ u in the Prussian place-names as the lake Lauken (1306) vs. Locazar (1308) = laucks “field” + assaran “lake”, or the see Dauben (1346) vs. Duben / Douben (1340), cf. Prussian pa-daubis, Lithua- nian daubà “Schlucht”, etc. (Gerullis 1922: 26, 83). Taking in account this pos- sibility, the root *-gor- of the Prussian hydronym is compatible with the name of the Prussian lake Goryn, first recorded in 1293, in 1339 as Gureyn (Gerullis 1922: 44; Toporov 1979: 345), and further with Lithuanian giaure “kalkhaltiger Boden”, gurùs“locker, bröckelig, brüchig”, gùrulas “Brocken”, etc., all from the verb gùrti “zerfallen, zerbröckeln, zerkrümeln, zergehen, zerfliessen; aufgeloc- kert, aufgeweicht, schwach warden”, Latvian gur̃t “matt, schwach sein”, gaurs “locker” (Fraenkel 1962–65: 150, 179; Vanagas 1981: 109; Smoczyński 2007: 212–13). In the light of the etymological connection between Gothic malma “sand”, Swedish malm “sandy plain, ore”, Old English mealmiht “sandy”, En- glish malm “light, loamy soil”, Old Saxon, Old High German melm, German mulm “dust” and Gothic malan “to grind”, Old Norse mala, Old Saxon, Old High German malan id. (Lehmann 1986: 242–43), it is legitimate to specula- te that in Prussian there could have existed a word of the type *gauro / *goro / *guro, meaning “sand, gravel, pebble” vel sim. Its traces may be identified in both the lake-name Goryn & Gureyn and the river-name Pregora, Prigora ‘Pre- gel’, perhaps “by sandy dunes” vel sim. Such a semantic motivation would also agree with the proposed meaning of the Χρόνος & Chronius River in the light of its Germanic etymology. Less probable seems the ‘stony’ variant of this etymology. In the narrow es- tuary of the Curonian Lagoon there is the mouth of the Dane-Akmena River. The Akmena means “stony”, cf. Lithuanian akmuõ, gen. ãkmenas “stone” (Va- nagas 1981: 37). 3.2. Ῥούβων [Ptolemy 3.5.2. in Nobbe´s edition) / Ῥούδων [Marcian 2.39]

34 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

3.2.1. If Marcian’s reading Ῥούδων is correct, the hydronym could reflect Germanic *rudō(n) “redness” > Old Norse roði id., Old English rudu, Middle Low Germanic rude id. (Orel 2003: 307). The exact match in Baltic from the point of view of word formation appears in Lithuanian ruduõ “autumn”, while the exact semantic counterpart raudónas = raũdas“red” differs in the diphthong. 3.2.2. In the case that Ptolemy’s form Ῥούβων is correct, it could be connec- ted with Latvian rubenis, rubins, f. rubeniene “Birkhuhn / Tetrao tetrix”, baltais rubenis “Moorschneehuhn, Morasthuhn / Lagopus albus” (ME III 552), besi- des Lithuanian raũbas “graugesprenkelt”, related to Old Norse rjúpa “Schne- ehuhn” (de Vries 1962: 449). Mühlenbach (ME I 709) and Fraenkel (1962–65: 193) speculated about the intensive reduplication *rierub-/*rirub-/*rerub- of the root *rub- in this ornithonym, leading to such the forms as Lithuanian jerubė̃, jerū̃be, dial. (j)ãrube “Haselhuhn”, Latvian ir̃be, dial. jirbe, i(e)rube “Feldhuhn, Ackerhuhn” (ME I 708–09); further also Old Norse jarpi “Haselhuhn” vs. jar- pr “dunkelbraun”, Middle Low German erpel “male duck” vs. Old English eorp, earp, Old High German erpf “dunkelfarbig” (de Vries 1962: 291). This solution allows us to identify the hydronym with a concrete river, namely Irbe from the north of the Courland Peninsula (Kurzemes pussala), 32 km long, but with its longest tributary Stende it is altogether 132 km long. It is tempting to think about some connection between the hydronym Ῥούβων and the promontory Rusbeas recorded by Pliny, if Solinus’ version Ru- beas is more correct. Not too far from the mouth of the Irbe River, identified here with Ῥούβων, there is Kolkarags, the northernmost point of the Curonian Peninsula. The sea beyond the Rubeas Promontory could be the Gulf of Riga. Its identification with the Cronian Sea may be caused by the fact that it also freezes over, like the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons. 3.2.3. Müllenhoff (1887: 351), followed by Rappaport (RE 48, 1914, c. 1180) and others, offered the emendation +Ῥούσων, seeking a support in the name Rùsnė of one of arms of the Nemunas/Nemen/Memel. Let us mention that ac- cording to LKŽ, Lithuanian rùsnė means 1. “vieta, kur pagonių žyniai kūren- davo amžinąją ugnį: Visos kitos tokios vietos, kuriose amžina ugnis ant garbės Dievo rusinama buvo, vadinos rusnės, nuo žodžio rusėti, arba amžinai degti”, i.e. “the place, where the pagan priests burnt an eternal fire; all other similar places, where the eternal fire was burnt in honour of God, were called rusnės, from the word rusėti, i.e. “to burn eternally”; 2. rusmenė (Digitalis). 3.3. Τουρούντος (Ταυρούντος) [Ptolemy 3.5.2]. It is attractive to derive the hydronym by the suffix *-unþ- from the base attested in Old Norse þori “Menge, Masse”, perhaps related to þora “wagen”, þoran “Mut, Tüchtigkeit”, and further Vedic turá- “strong, rich”, etc. (de Vries 1962: 617; Pokorny 1959: 1083).

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In semantic perspective, this solution allows one to connect Ptolemy’s hy- dronym with the name of the biggest Latvian river Daugava, 1020 km long, which is etymologizable on the basis of Latvian daũdz “viel”, Lithuanian daũg, daugi(a) “viel”, daũgis“Vielheit”, further Polish duży “gross, stark”, dużo “viel”, etc. (Fraenkel 1962–65: 84). Note: The Germanic *þ transcribed as τ by Ptolemy is a usual way of transcription in his work, cf. e.g. the place-name Τευδέριον / Τουδέριον / Τουτέριον [2.11.27] between the Rhein and Ems Rivers, discussed in detail by Much (1897: 99, 115). 3.4. Χε(ρ)σίνος [Ptolemy 3.5.2 in Nobbe’s edition, p. 167] / Χέσυνος [Mar- cian 2.39]. It could be a transcription of Germanic *herznan > Old Norse hjarn “hard frozen snow”, Norwegian hjårnid., dial. jorr m. “layer of ice” < *hjorr < *herz(n) u-; Old High German hornunc “February” < *hurznungon (de Vries 1962: 231; Orel 2003: 171; Kroonen 2013: 223), cf. Latvian sersna̧ “Reiffrost, Nachtfrost im Frühling” (ME III 831), Lithuanian šer̃kšnas & šir̃kšnas “hoarfrost” (Fra- enkel 1962–65: 973–74); Russian-Church Slavonic srěnъ “weiss”, Old Russian serenъ “gefrorener Schnee”, Russian seren id., Old Polish śrzon “gefrorener Tau, Reif”, etc. (Falk & Torp 1909: 78). It is tempting to drew our attention to the Latvian river Salaca (95 km), emp- tying into the Gulf of Riga. If it is etymologizable on the basis of Latvian s al ̂t “frieren”, sals “Frost” (ME III 675–76), Lithuanian šálti “(ge)frieren, abkühlen, kalt werden”, pãšalas “Frost in der Erde, gefrorener Erdboden; Nachtfrost” (Fraenkel 1962–65: 958–61), Prussian passalis “Frost” [EV 57], Ptolemy’s hy- dronym seems to be a Germanic calque on the Baltic river-name, meaning pro- bably “freezing over”.

4. CONCLUSION

Four hydronyms from East Balticum mediated by Ptolemy in the mid-2nd cent. CE and repeated with certain modifications by Marcian in the 4th cent. CE look like Germanic calques on the primary Baltic river-names, probably with one exception, Ῥούβων, allowing the direct Baltic etymology and identifi- cation with the Irbe River. The Χρόνος & Chronius River was probably named after the Mare Cronium, perhaps corresponding with one of the Vistula or Curo- nian Lagoons or their tributaries, Pregel, 1273 Pregora, or Akmena, respectively.

36 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

Ptolemy Marcian Others Germanic Baltic Present hydro- nym Χρόνος Χρόνος ChroniusMar- *hrauna- “stony Vistula Spit or cAmm soil, gravel” & Curonian Spit Mare Cro- *hraunija- / or straits in niumPliny *hraunijo(n)- them or (1273) “heap of stones” Pregora “by sandy du- nes” or Akmena “stony” Ῥούβων Ῥούδων *rudo(n) “re- Latv. ru- Irbe “grouse” dness” benis “grouse” Τουρούντος Τουρούντος *þurunþ- Daugava “abounding” “abounding” Χε(ρ)σίνος Xέσυνος *herznan-/*h- Salaca erznu- “freezing over” “frozen”

REFERENCES AgT – Die altgermanischen Toponyme sowie ungermanische Toponyme Germaniens. Ein Handbuch zu ihrer Etymologie, von Corinna Scheungraber & Friedrich E. Grün- zweig. – Philologica Germanica 32. Wien: Fassbaender, 2014. Fraenkel Ernst 1962–65: Litauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch I–II. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht – Heidelberg: Winter. Gerullis Georg 1922: Die altpreußischen Ortsnamen. Berlin und Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter.

Hellquist Elof 1957: Svensk etymologisk ordbok3. Lund: Gleerup. Holthausen H. 1963: Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Winter. Kroonen Guus 2013: Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic. Leiden – Boston: Brill. Kuhn Hans 1941: Hadbarden und Hadraumer. – Namn och bygd 29, 84–116. LGLO – Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen III: P–Ä, begründet von A. D. Kylstra, fortgeführt von Sirkka-Liisa Hahmo, Tette Hofstra & Osmo Nikkilä. Amsterdam – New Yoerk: Rodopi 2012. Mannert Konrad 1820: Geographie der Griechen und Römer IV: Norden der Erde von der Weichsel bis nach China2. Leipzig: Hahn.

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Mažiulis Vytautas 2013: Prusų kalbos etimologijos žodynas. Vilnius: Mokslo enci- klopedijų leidybos centras. ME I–IV – Mühlenbach Karlis, Endzelin Janis. 1923–1932: Lettisch-deutsches Wörter- buch 1–4. Riga: Lettisches Bildungsministerium / Lettischer Kultursfond. Much Rudolf 1897: Die Städte in der Germania des Ptolemäus. – Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur, N.F. 29 = 41, 97–143. Müllenhoff Karl 1887: Deutsche Altertumskunde, Zweiter Band. Berlin: Weidmann. Müller Carl 1882: Geographi Graeci Minores, Volumen primum. Paris: Firmin-Di- dot et sociis. Nobbe C. F. A. 1966: Claudii Ptolemaei Geographia. Hildesheim: Olms. Orel Vladimir 1998: Albanian Etymological Dictionary. Leiden – Boston – Köln. Orel Vladimir 2003: A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. Leiden – Boston: Brill. Plinius Claudius 1988: Naturalis Historiae / Naturkunde, Libri III–IV, herausgegeben und übersetzt von Gerhard Winkler. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. RE – August Pauly, Georg Wissowa, Wilhelm Kroll, Kurt Witte, Karl Mittelhaus, Konrat Ziegler, eds. Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft: neue Bearbeitung. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1894–1980. de Saussure Ferdinand 1881: KPHNH. Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique 6, 119. https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/%CE%9A%CF%81%CE%AE%CE%BD%CE%B7. Schönfeld M. 1911: Wörterbuch der altgermanischen Personen- und Völkernamen. Hei- delberg: Winter. Smoczyński Wojciech 2007: Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego. Wilno: Uni- wersytet wileński. Toporov Vladimir 1979: Prusskij jazyk 2 (E–H). Moskva: Nauka. Udolph Jürgen 1994: Namenkundliche Studien zum Germanenproblem. Berlin – New York: Walter de Gruyter. Vanagas Aleksandras 1981: Lietuvių hidronimų etimologinis žodynas. Vilnius: Mokslas. de Vries Jan 1962: Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch2. Leiden: Brill.

38 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

Bandymas etimologiškai analizuoti Ptolemajo užfiksuotus rytinio Baltijos regiono hidronimus

SANTRAUKA

Straipsnyje nagrinėjami keli Klaudijo Ptolemajo Geografijoje minimų rytinio Baltijos regiono, patenkančio į Europinės Sarmatijos erdvę, hidronimai. Kaip pažymi autorius, tai yra bandymas paaiškinti jų etimologiją. Geografija buvo paskelbta II a. viduryje. Straips- nyje cituojama Ptolemajo Europos Sarmatijos geografinė samprata, išvardijant upes: Chro- nus, Rudonis, Turuntus, Che(r)sinus, Albis, Vistula. Žvilgsnis taip pat metamas į kitų auto- rių hidronimų interpretacijas ir komentarus, paminimi IV a. istorikai Marcianas iš Ponto Heraklėjos. kuris modifkuoja upių pavadinimus, ir Amianas Marcelinas. Šie vardai I a. tikriausiai buvo žinomi ir Plinijui. Plinijumi sekdamas, apie tai III a. rašė ir Gajus Julijus Solinas. Autorius išsamiai nagrinėja keturių hidronimų etimologiją, siekdamas paaiškinti, iš kurios kalbos jie kilę. Šie hidronimai – tai Chronas, Rudonas, Turuntas, Chesinas (vardai pateikiami pagal Eugenijaus Jovaišos monografiją Aisčiai. Raida. Vilnius: Lietuvos eduko- logijos universiteto leidykla, 2014, 121–162. Straipsnio autorius tik neseniai susipažino su E. Jovaišos Ptolemajo žemėlapio perskaitymu. – Red. kolegijos pastaba). Ptolemajas II a. po. Kr. viduryje paminėjo keturis rytinio Baltijos regiono hidroni- mus, o Marcianas IV a. po Kr. juos pakartojo šiek tiek pakeistus. Šie hidronimai yra pir- miniai baltų upių pavadinimų germaniški vertiniai, išimtis tik Ῥούβων, kuris leidžia nu- statyti tiesioginę baltų hidronimo Irbė etimologiją. Tikėtina, kad hidronimas Chronius (gr. Χρόνος) yra kilęs iš Mare Cronium, galimai atitinkantis Vistulą ar Kuršių marias bei jų intakus Prieglių, 1273 Pregorą ar Akmeną.

Acknowledgement: The present study was prepared thanks to the grant of the The Czech Science Founda- tion (GAČR) GA15-12215S. I am grateful to John D. Bengtson for correcting the English.

Įteikta 2017 m. gegužės 2 d.

VÁCLAV BLAŽEK Ústav jazykovědy a baltistiky, Filozofická fakulta Masarykovy University A. Nováka 1, CZ-60200 Brno [email protected]

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